April 28th , 2011
By Requiem

Genre: Action / First Person Shooter
Systems: Xbox, Playstation 2, and PC
Developer: Pandemic Studios
Publisher: Lucasarts
Release Date: Fall 2011

Can you honestly say that you have never wanted to stick a thermal detonator up an Ewok's ass? Of course not. We've all wanted to at one point or another... On September 21, we will finally get that chance… well, sort of.

For anyone in the online gaming know, Battlefield has been one of the most popular online action games for more than two years now. The concept is just too appealing to deny; get in a team with a bunch of friends (or random Internet gamers, whatever) and blow the living hell out of another group using a variety of weapons and vehicles. Finally, we get the chance to do this in one of the most vast and exciting fantasy worlds of all time: the Star Wars galaxy.

The standout feature of this game is the amazing amount of depth and detail that LucasArts has put into the levels. Battlefront features more than a dozen planets from the Star Wars universe that fans of the series will recognize right off the bat including Endor (yes, you get to shoot Ewoks… or work alongside them, but seriously…), Yavin IV, Tatoonie, and Naboo (Again… Gungan shooting fun…). Each level contains detail down to the individual shrubs of the Endor forest or the wind-whipped sand of Tatoonie. This allows players to utilize camouflage techniques so they can get the perfect kill.

Of course, the real pull of Battlefront is the gameplay. Amazingly, it will cover the entire six film saga. The four different factions that gamers will get to choose from are the Clonetroopers, Droid Army, Rebellion, and Empire. Each has dozens of characters that will make even the slightest SW fan salivate. While you cannot specifically control such names as Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader, they are available as bonus characters that can join your team if you accomplish the right goals. You'd think this must be one hell of a tough goal since we all know Vader could pretty much single handedly take on anyone in his path.

The single player game has you on a team with 32 other computer controlled soldiers to fight along side you. According to LucasArts, you will be able to take part in some of the biggest and most exciting battles from the movies. What comes to mind, for me anyways, is the thought of being a droid taking on 200 Jedi… hell yeah. Anyways, this isn't really the allure of the game. What we all want, and LucasArts knows it, is multiplayer.

Online you get the ability to play with 15 other people or 31 more on LAN play. You can do the obvious quick matches where you and your pals group up and take on a single other team, but again, this is only the beginning. A mode called Galactic Conquest is what will make the game addictive and stand-out from other online titles. In it, you and your team battle it out on 30 different battles, slowly but surely trying to take control of the Galaxy. Along the way your stats will be tracked down to the T so that when it is all over you can gloat to your friends that you killed more Ewoks than them.

Still several months away, LucasArts will have the chance to tinker with the game until it is a perfect, satisfying experience. September 21st is definitely going to be national Star Wars day as it is also the release of the LONG awaited original trilogy on DVD. Oh, and for those of you who aren't sure if you'll want Battlefront, there will be a playable Xbox demo on the extra features disc of the trilogy.